Pantera's Back
by Scotty's
Summary: We never did get to see Grimmjow die. Suppose his zanpakto took advantage of the situation. Suppose Grimmjow allowed Pantera to take over. Will he even survive to see his zanpakto's true form? T for now. I need reviews before I take this anywhere. Review.
1. Chapter 1

***I don't own bleach, and have never claimed to, so if someone could tell that to the two guys dressed in black that have been sitting outside my door...***

"Get up. I said get up. We don't bow to anyone. Not to Aizen, not to Ulquiorra, and I will not let you bow to that human son of a..."

"Shut up."

"GET UP."

"Shut the hell up. He won. It's over."

"It's not over unless you're dead. I still wanna fight. This is your own fault. You went easy on that human and now look at you," the world was no longer dark, at least not to Grimmjow. His inner world looked like a jungle, made of plants and vines, twisting and gripping each other tightly, and all around a solid structure. If you were to step back and see the whole picture, you might say the structure looked a little like a skull. The sky was black, reflecting off the sea of dark waters around the area that were constantly breaking on the mass of plant life. As Grimmjow saw himself, he was standing inside the 'jaw' of his inner world staring up into the night sky. The oddest park of this picture was the huge pair of yellow-green catlike eyes that looked like they had been painted into the atmosphere itself. The voice spoke as if the entire world resonated with the sound, "You will get up, and you will fight. Always with you it's the same bullshit. Over, and over again. King this, and king that. The strong do not become kings, we strong ones survive. We survive to FIGHT. Damn it Grimmjow, this is all because you hold onto that damn human existence you once had. Fool."

The wind picked up around the inner world of the sixth espada. His eyes downcast, Grimmjow knew his zanpakto was right. Life was so much simpler when he was a menos grande. He didn't have to face himself in this place. Hell he didn't even have an inner world until that damn _Hougyoku_ changed him. Aizen. He remembered just how much he hated those shinigami. Self-righteous, self-appointed, and selfish. Never thinking that maybe hollows didn't want to change. Hadn't we suffered enough. Fear, pain, loss, and hunger. They didn't know any of it, not like hollows. "You don't speak Grimmjow, but have you forgotten that I'm not apart from you? I can hear your thoughts like they were my own. Of course they don't you fool. We are what they cannot be. They are high-minded just because they come to terms with themselves, but you must put aside that pride of yours. We are one being. I am you. Trust me if no one else. You are destruction personified, faster and more powerful than almost any being in Hueco Mundo and the Seireitei, and you still cling to the pain that bore you? Grow up you child."

"Shut up. Shut Up. SHUT UP. I am the king here. You are only _my_ blade. You are only a piece of _me_. I am Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, espada of Hueco Mundo..."

"And you are still lying in a pool of your own blood," The eyes that inhabited the sky above Grimmjow narrowed, "And I can stop the bleeding. I can heal you. Conditionally that is..."

"Conditions? From myself? For fuc..."

"I want to become a full _zanpakto_."

"You want what? I'd rather die. Screw off."

"You would still be a hollow. But I'm sick of giving you a _resurreccion_. This kind of existence demeans us both. Get that superior look off your face. Wasn't it just you who condemned the shinigami for being _'self-righteous'_? I want to survive, but not if this same shit keeps happening. If you refuse to put away your pride to get stronger, then we both die here and save us both the trouble of your continued existence," _Pantera_ paused for a moment. This was the perfect opportunity. _'Now maybe I can get something I want too.'_ The emergence of self was occurring in _Pantera_, and since Grimmjow was no saint to begin with, his _zanpakto_ was no different. "All you have to do, is say yes, and I will do what is needed. Say yes. Do it."

"What the hell is wrong with you? You've never said more than two words at a time, and now you want to become more like a _shinigami's zanpakto_? Damn it, why should I bother. Maybe we should die here."

"If you want, then fine, there isn't much I can do about it. We'll both die here, well, you will die here. There isn't really a me anyway. I'm just your _'resurreccion'_ right?"

"Why the hell are you so bitter, I'm the one that's fucking dying here."

"Why am I bitter? Why? I fought against that _Zangetsu_. For you. I release my energy to you. For you. And yet I only request to become stronger, for you, and you scoff? Is the idea of surviving with a full _zanpakto_ so disgusting to you? The one who roamed the desert with the meat of his peers feeding him, his endless hunger never relenting. Even now, you would like nothing more than to dominate and consume your fellow _espada_. I want to survive. I want to be strong. I want to fight. We are supposed to be one."

"Che. Whatever, do what you want. But I ain't being no _shinigami_."

"Will you really search for that human?"

"That kid beat me. He is no longer beneath my claws. We're not even equal anymore. I owe him a debt. And I hate myself for that. I'll make him stronger yet, and then I will fight him. I will beat him into catfood, and watch that superior look roll out of his eyes."

"And then?"

"I don't know. Does it matter?"

"No, but you should know, if I do this, then I won't be able to hear your thoughts. I want to know that once I change, you won't leave me to the darkness. I want to know that the strong will survive."

"How the hell did you get so sentimental? You can't have gotten that from me."

"Prepare yourself then, this is going to hurt. And I'd hate to meet the other bitch that made me. So I hope you didn't leave a note telling her where you took me."

"Just get on with it," Grimmjow was past caring anymore. Though he was still semi-conscious, he felt so tired. He could feel the damage he had taken against that Kurosaki bastard. And the cut on his torso from Nnoitra was bleeding profusely. He could feel vibrations on the ground, _reiatsu_ pounding through his ears, but he was deaf and blind to the outside world. He could feel that his breathing had slowed to almost nothing, and the lack of blood was causing his heart to pump fruitlessly. "Hurry it up."

"Just remember that I can't undo all this damage. Once I'm finished, we need to get out of here."

"Yeah, yeah, shut the hell up and make us fucking freaks already," again Grimmjow was screaming. At himself. And Grimmjow wondered why he hadn't noticed it, but something was coming up from underneath the underbrush of vines and small bushes. They were growing straight up. Trees. And his inner world was getting damp. It excited him. _Pantera_ was creating the jungle. He heard a low growl, an animal in pain. Looking up he couldn't see the eyes of _Pantera_ anymore. That was the last thing Grimmjow was capable of thinking before the darkness overtook him.

"Remember, I warned you..."


	2. Chapter 2

*Bleach, not mine.*

Once the agony subsided, Grimmjow tried to open his eyes. He saw nothing but blurred yellow sand. He tried to breathe, but he only got the rasping of sand on his throat. There was pressure on his back, pushing him farther and farther into the dirt. Nnoitra had released his zanpakto. Even in his current state, Grimmjow knew that aggressive reiatsu. Grimmjow could feel the blood's flow stop, and a new reiatsu enter his body, as if an infusion of energy was replacing what he had lost already. Pantera, he thought. Looking for his zanpakto, he didn't even realize that he was still clutching it in his fist.

'I've got to get out of here.'

His hearing was beginning to return as blood rushed back to his head. Only after standing did he realize that he really should not. With eyes still sagging and dark, Grimmjow managed to propel himself behind on of the last remaining columns, where, unable to maintain a standing position, he crumpled to his knees, cursing his zanpakto.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, you were supposed to fix this!"

'No, I said i would give you a second chance, now go.'

Grimmjow would have sworn at Pantera to relieve the sickening feeling, but as he got to one knee, the cramping in his stomach forced his abdomen to clench so tight that the pain forced him to stay there. He had lost so much energy, numbness was overtaking his extremities. He raised his arms and bowed his head, staring at the blood stained hands before him for endless seconds, before he realized what was about to happen. The grip of his muscles around his insides forced him to vomit, and it was only then that the sixth espada realized just how far he'd been beaten. The cuts all over his body had threatened to rip apart again due to the force of his inner tension, and his mind was still reeling because of his zanpakto's split. So self-absorbed was Grimmjow that he didn't even notice the arrival of two very unassuming personalities.

"He's about to pass out Isane, we can approach now."

"Who the fuck ar...." perhaps he might have attacked, or screamed profanities, no one will ever know, because that last exertion of strength drained Grimmjow of the last bit of consciousness from his mind.

The young Lieutenant of the 4th squad knelt to take a closer look at her supposed enemy, and asked with an almost childlike voice, "Are we really going to help him?"

"Of course Isane, we are healers, and it seems that he was not killed by Kurosaki for some reason. I shall leave you to him Isane, as I believe you can handle it. I must see to Kuchiki-taicho. Report back to me after you are finished Isane."

"Of course, Unohana-taicho."

When Isane bent down to examine the unresponsive frame of the kneeling espada, the stink of sweat, blood and vomit filled her nostrils. The stink of war and battle. Reaching to lay him down was revolting, as the hollow was covered in his own body fluids, but Isane managed to set the former enemy into a manageable position and begin to address the biggest concern, namely the internal damage inflicted. Her hands formed the required energy and she began to infuse reiatsu into his wounds. Isane didn't get very far into the operation before massive releases of energy were felt. Kenpachi and another espada were fighting, and the pressure it put on Isane was making her sweat. Taking a break for an instant, she moved back to survey the scene and put a healing barrier around her patient, noticing the tightly grasped weapon in his right hand, tried to remove it for her own safety. But when she touched the hilt of the weapon, she saw a glimpse of the zanpakto's true form, an enormous black feline, sitting over the prone form of the changed espada.

"Careful, woman. He is mine."

Holding in a squeal, Isane blinked a few times to reassure herself that she was, in fact seeing what she was seeing. Releasing the weapon, the image disappeared, and Isane went about her work quietly, mystified and apprehensive about what she had just witnessed. The sounds of combat had stopped abruptly and Isane felt an espada level opponent's reiatsu suddenly stop. Her kido was taking effect, and Grimmjow started to stir. Acting quickly, Isane administered a powerful muscle relaxer that would dull his senses.

'Why do I have to heal an enemy? He'll just be killed later.'

Isane sometimes wondered just how far her captain's compassion would extend. They had already healed one arrancar, and now she was healing an espada. As she let out a sigh out loud, Grimmjow began to awaken, although still under the influence of Isane's concoction of healing drugs, and through blurry vision could see the form of a person above him. The image only cleared for brief moments, allowing him to catch glimpses of Isane's face. Almost delusional, Isane could her him breathe out, "You're fucking hot."

The blush spread across Isane's face faster than shunpo or sonido. Now bright red, Isane gave him an extra dosage for the pain medicine and continued pouring in her healing reiatsu. I wasn't long until the sounds of combat stopped and the fires of battle put out. But Isane knew better than to let down her guard, especially in this place. But she finished her job promptly and with a timing only possible in a script, Isane's commander appeared in a flash of shunpo. Kneeling before the arrancar, she noticed the careful work that her subordinate had done in healing all the life-threatening wounds almost completely while leaving those that would cause mere discomfort.

"Good work, Isane. But there is more to do. Bind and leave him. We will no doubt be taking prisoners later, and he may very well be useful. Come quickly Isane, I feel uneasy about the reiatsu nearby."

"Hai, Unohana-taicho. Bakudo 63, Sajo Sabaku. Bakudo 60 Anshoubangou." Chains of bright light wound their way around the body of the prone espada, rapidly squeezing the mobility out of him when a pulsing red stake fell from above, slipping between the links of the great chains and going through the body of Grimmjow, fastening him securely to the ground. "There, he should be here when we come back now."

"Skillfully executed Isane," her captain commended, "Your skill with kido is most likely on par with lieutenant Hinamori. Come now Isane."

Walking away, and putting behind them the unconscious body of the former sixth espada, only Isane gave a second thought to the unwitting compliment given her in the throes of a semi-conscious monster. And even later, as the war in the real world concluded, and the shinigami gathered their dead, and began the tedious task of retrieving their separated comrades from Hueco Mundo and the prisoners of war they had captured, the still changing body of Grimmjow Jaegerjaques was being transported by Mayuri Kurosuchi in a long black box, sealed from the outside world by the powerful artificial kido of the freakish captain of the 12th squad. Grimmjow's new life, his second chance quickly fading into the mire. He had no thoughts, no conception of what was happening. Though unfortunately for him, Mayuri the strange was making up for him, chuckling all the way to himself, commending himself on his great fortune.

Later that day, in the 12th squad's barracks and laboratory, Captain Kurosuchi had ordered the central laboratory evacuated for his experiments on his greatest acquisition in Hueco Mundo, the former sixth espada.

"Nemu, have the preparations been completed?" demanded Mayuri.

"Yes Mayuri-sama, all personnel have been removed from the building, there are guards set in a perimeter around the facility, and I have ordered you a footlong peanut butter and ham sandwich from the 4th squad."

"Nemu, shut up and make me a sammich!!" Mayuri cried out at the girl, spit slurring his final words. "I have no time to wait for those fools. What about the reiatsu suppressors?"

"All have been placed Mayuri-sama. Not even the former top espada could escape it's suppression field Mayuri-sama. Shall I prepare your meal now Mayuri-sama?"

"Yes, yes you stupid bitch, go. GO!" flew through the air from Captain Kurosuchi. "Serious, how did I create such a thing with such a bothersome attitude. Now then, where to begin...where to begin? Ah, I know, let's wake the subject from stasis."

Chuckling to himself about his own cleverness, he furiously attacked the keyboard in front of him, typing the dismiss code for the artificial seal around his specimen. He finally pressed the enter key, and with a short burst of light, the black box disappeared, leaving a still bound Grimmjow lying on an examination table in a sealed white room.

"Oh, this is not a result of my actions," commented Kurosuchi, regarding the black substance covering the body of the former hollow, and oozing all over the table. "Such an anomaly must be examined immediately."

With that final phrase, Mayuri began his examination of his unwilling patient. For hours he went uninterrupted, completely fascinated by the black substance that seemed to respond to anything in proximity, covering Grimmjow's body, and almost protecting him from anything around him. However, after five hours of unending attempts to remove either the black slime or the subject, Mayuri was finally becoming frustrated, and with his frustration, his sadistic nature started to emerge. Almost as playful as a child who's just discovered that he can pull the wings off from flies, but with no one to tell him of it's morality, Mayuri began using anything from electric current, to blades, even trying various burning tools to achieve his goals, instead being stumped every time by this unknown substance.

"DAMN IT." raged Mayuri, "What is this? Must I resort to stronger measures? I had wanted the creature intact. No, this has gone long enough. It's time to..."

"Mayuri-sama, Captain-Commander has called for you to join the captain's meeting in 10 minutes." Nemu interrupted. "He has insisted you give a full report immediately."

"Arrrgh," groaned the irritated scientist, uncharacteristically becoming docile towards his superior's request. "Never a moment's peace. Nemu, you will stay here and observe the creature. Should here be any developments, you must activate your implants and contact me at once."

"As you wish Mayuri-sama," replied Nemu, almost robotic. It wasn't as though she had a choice in the matter anyway. Even though it was an excruciatingly painful event, for her anyway, to activate her mental link with him, her programming to love him left her little choice i the matter. "Do you require any further service done on the specimen while you are away?"

"Try whatever you wish Nemu, just remember, I want all new observations reported to me immediately."

"Yes, Mayuri-sama."

With that final exchange, the captain of the 12th squad departed for his meeting with the other captains, and Nemu resumed her creator's experiments, not knowing of the reaction her attempts would yield, nor the damage they would inflict upon her squad's laboratory. She began powering RPL device to try and peel away the covering layer of black from the specimen. The powerful reiatsu pulse laser would cut through almost any material and burn the tissue surrounding it's impact, so it was unwise to use it unless all other options had been exhausted, but in this small 20 x 20 room of stainless steel, not a single instrument had been overlooked, except this innocent looking cylinder now hooked up to a movement apparatus that had more in common with a dentist's drill, than a high tech laser capable of cutting through buildings with enough power.

"Start log, at 15:03, I am continuing the experiments on the dark substance that has emanated from the hollow's body to try and identify what it is, and how it came into existence. I have initialised the RPL scalpel, and have begun to make the first incis...." was as far as the young lieutenant got into the experiment. The moment the intense beam of energy contacted the prone form of the former hollow, the black substance reacted. Violently. There was an explosion of reiatsu, so powerful, that the shockwave threw Nemu back into the tiled surface of the wall behind her, creating a crater in the reinforced building. The second explosion, literally blew the roof off the house. And yet another shockwave rippled through the 12th's barracks and laboratory, shattering glass, and cracking the walls. The reiatsu suppression field generators were crushed into their sockets by the feedback that had been forced into them.

Standing at the epicentre of the destruction was a very dark figure. It had the shape of Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, but instead of the white uniform and bone mask, it was a seething, creeping mass of black. All that showed through were the eyes. Brilliant blue eyes. But there was no light behind those eyes, there was no purpose or intent in them. They were dead eyes. Eyes of the occupied.

Inside his mind however, there was anything but death. Inside the inner world of the former espada, life had begun to team together. The trees had grown hundreds of feet, sprouting a canopy, providing roots to cover the ground with, and concealing the ground beneath them completely. there were waves, constantly beating upon the shores of this island. And Grimmjow standing in the right eye of his inner world, facing his zanpakto, a huge black cat, with those same yellow predatory eyes that he was so familiar with.

'Grimmjow, I know you can hear me. Do you remember my name?'

"Of course I do you fucking idiot."

'Then release me. We have work to do. Before...'

"Before what?"

'Before you fight for your life.'

"Grind," Grimmjow declared, grinning like a madman, "Pantera"

He looked down to see, not the familiar suit of white armour, jammed full of weapons of unimaginable power, but dark grey gauntlets on each hand. Each extended itself to his elbow, where it became a dark rope spiraled around his arms, past his shoulders, and seamlessly connected behind his head. On the top of each hand, there was a vicious double edged weapon beginning at the top of his wrist and continuing out three feet, tapering itself from two inches to a very sharp point. But strangely, he wasn't disturbed by the change. The weapons felt natural. Almost like extentions of his arms, he knew how to move to avoid getting cut, how they moved and how to hold them.

'That was quick. Good. He is here. Don't die Grimmjow.'

"Who...."

"Grimmjow, you're a fucking disgrace."


End file.
